Despite delivering investors losses of 33% over the past 1 year, Wienerberger (VIE:WIE) has been growing its earnings

Passive investing in an index fund is a good way to ensure your own returns roughly match the overall market. Active investors aim to buy stocks that vastly outperform the market - but in the process, they risk under-performance. Investors in Wienerberger AG (VIE:WIE) have tasted that bitter downside in the last year, as the share price dropped 35%. That falls noticeably short of the market decline of around 2.1%. However, the longer term returns haven't been so bad, with the stock down 1.4% in the last three years. Shareholders have had an even rougher run lately, with the share price down 22% in the last 90 days.

While the last year has been tough for Wienerberger shareholders, this past week has shown signs of promise. So let's look at the longer term fundamentals and see if they've been the driver of the negative returns.

See our latest analysis for Wienerberger

While markets are a powerful pricing mechanism, share prices reflect investor sentiment, not just underlying business performance. One way to examine how market sentiment has changed over time is to look at the interaction between a company's share price and its earnings per share (EPS).

During the unfortunate twelve months during which the Wienerberger share price fell, it actually saw its earnings per share (EPS) improve by 77%. It could be that the share price was previously over-hyped.

It's fair to say that the share price does not seem to be reflecting the EPS growth. So it's easy to justify a look at some other metrics.

Wienerberger's revenue is actually up 29% over the last year. Since we can't easily explain the share price movement based on these metrics, it might be worth considering how market sentiment has changed towards the stock.

You can see below how earnings and revenue have changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).

Wienerberger is well known by investors, and plenty of clever analysts have tried to predict the future profit levels. You can see what analysts are predicting for Wienerberger in this interactive graph of future profit estimates.

A Different Perspective

While the broader market lost about 2.1% in the twelve months, Wienerberger shareholders did even worse, losing 33% (even including dividends). Having said that, it's inevitable that some stocks will be oversold in a falling market. The key is to keep your eyes on the fundamental developments. On the bright side, long term shareholders have made money, with a gain of 4% per year over half a decade. It could be that the recent sell-off is an opportunity, so it may be worth checking the fundamental data for signs of a long term growth trend. While it is well worth considering the different impacts that market conditions can have on the share price, there are other factors that are even more important. Like risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Wienerberger (of which 1 can't be ignored!) you should know about.

Of course Wienerberger may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of growth stocks.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on AT exchanges.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.